2017 Issue 11 Creative Loafing Charlotte by Creative Loafing Charlotte

CLCLT.COM | MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2017 VOL. 31, NO. 11

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BE BR AV E

SATURDAY May 6, 2017

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Customer Appreciation Day Saturday May 13th 2pm-6pm Old School v. New School DJ Battle !!!!!

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EDITORIAL

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PHOTO BY COOPERNUCUS.

Maf Maddix spreads the knowledge on page 22.

We put out weekly

NEWS&CULTURE THE BIG BAIL OUT Local organizers join nationwide effort to bail out black mothers on Mother’s Day BY RYAN PITKIN 9 EDITOR’S NOTE 12 THE BLOTTER 14 NEWSMAKER: ROBERT GREESON BY RYAN PITKIN

FOOD VEG UP Woodlands offers Indian vegan and vegetarian in a tiny strip mall in east Charlotte BY MARK KEMP

MUSIC SOUND EQUATIONS Charlotte artist Maf Maddix continues his quest for knowledge

BY PAT MORAN 18 THREE-COURSE SPIEL: KRISSY STEWART BY DEBRA RENEE SETH 20 TOP 10 THINGS TO D0 24 MUSICMAKER: DAVID CHILDERS BY MARK KEMP 26 SOUNDBOARD

ARTS&ENT FLIPPING THE SCRIPT Jessica Moss wants the Gantt

Center to be a space where local artists question the status quo

BY KIA O. MOORE

SPLIT PERSONALITIES ‘The Pride’ presents two takes on gay pride — 50 years apart BY PERRY TANNENBAUM 31 SUMMER FILMS PREVIEW BY MATT BRUNSON

ODDS&ENDS 34 MARKETPLACE 34 NIGHTLIFE BY AERIN SPRUILL 35 CROSSWORD 36 SAVAGE LOVE 38 HOROSCOPE BY VIVIAN CAROL

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COVER DESIGN BY DANA VINDIGNI PHOTO BY JACK HARGROVE CLCLT.COM | MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2017 VOL. 31, NO. 11

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NEWS

EDITOR’S NOTE

ONE LOVE Local artists make Charlotte more inclusive IN THE WEE small hours of the morning on understand each other more fully. It was the Saturday, April 29, I stood on the back patio best medicine against racism and intolerance of Petra’s in Plaza Midwood, surrounded by a that one could possibly get. If you weren’t there this year, come out for it next year. throbbing crowd of people half my age. In the mean time, you don’t have to wait They were dancing furiously to a skittering mix of hip-hop, world music and for next year’s festival to begin experiencing reggae. Specifically roots reggae. Even more the kind of diversity on display there. In this issue, two people who were instrumental in specifically, Bob Marley. Hands in the air, bodies slithering bringing some of that diversity to BOOM together rhythmically, they all sang loudly to Charlotte share the cover story. One is Jessica Moss, the new creative the refrain of “One Love.” There’s only one love. There is no director at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for alternative love. We either love or we don’t African-American Arts + Culture. She’s the love. And during the BOOM Charlotte fringe- subject of the story, which you’ll find on arts festival last weekend, one love ruled this page 28. The other person is Kia O. Moore, a regular Creative Loafing contributor and city. “This is the most diverse crowd of people tireless arts advocate in Charlotte. She wrote I’ve ever seen assembled in any one place in the story. You’ll find diverse perspectives elsewhere Charlotte,” I told a friend while watching Le Anna Eden and the Garden Of perform at the in this week’s issue, too, as you do in all issues of CL. outdoor Intersection Stage earlier in the In the music section beginning evening. on page 22, Pat Moran writes I wasn’t exaggerating. about a young hip-hop I had seen diverse crowds musician in Charlotte who of Charlotteans gathered also acts and does sound together many times in design for local theater Charlotte. I’ve seen them productions. at sporting events. I’ve Next to his piece is seen them at concerts. my interview with David I saw a spectacularly Childers, a 65-year-old diverse show of unity singer-songwriter and in Romare Bearden Park former attorney in Mount during the Women’s March Holly who’s not only been MARK KEMP on Charlotte just after spinning amazing tales of I arrived back in the Queen Southern working people in his City from the San Francisco Bay experimental folk and country music Area in January. And that event, in particular, had been an overwhelmingly for more than two decades, but he’s also used his law practice to help the poor navigate the powerful experience. But the crowd of people who poured into complicated social security system. In the news section on page 10, Ryan Plaza Midwood last weekend was different. It wasn’t just a rainbow of races, ethnicities Pitkin tells of local organizers working to and cultures, although that was certainly an free black mothers from jail before Mother’s Day and also chats with Robert Greeson, an important part of it. But BOOM fest also was a mix of very indigenous American who recently dedicated young children, elderly people, young adults his life to helping his fellow 10,000 indigenous and middle-aged guys like me. Most of people living in the Charlotte area find their all, though, it was a mix of ideas. Ideas collective voice and get respect. And in the food section on page 16, I talk about art, music, politics, different cultural perspectives, social justice and community with a married couple from southern India about the delicious vegetarian and vegan food activism. they cook up at Woodlands Pure Vegetarian It was Charlotte. BOOM Festival wasn’t a show of solidarity South Indian Cuisine on Albemarle Road in against anything, whether that be North East Charlotte. This issue of Creative Loafing is all about Carolina’s old, crusty and backward-thinking legislature or the current democracy-hating love and the wonderful diversity of people in president of the United States. It was a show Charlotte who are dishing it out in art, music and food. Oh, and by the way, if you ever of solidarity for something: Charlotte. It was Charlotte artists and lovers of receive an email from cover story writer Kia the arts working together, creating together, O. Moore, take note of the salutation. It reads: One Love. and dancing together in an attempt to CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 9

NEWS

FEATURE

THE BIG BAIL OUT Local organizers join nationwide effort to post bail for black mothers on Mother’s Day RYAN PITKIN

OR COUNTLESS BLACK

mothers in Mecklenburg County, Mother’s Day will be spent away from their families. These mothers are locked up for crimes they may or may not have committed, unable to buy their freedom, stuck until their court date arrives. What these women don’t know is that activists they’ve never met are working from the outside to free as many of them as possible and reunite them with their families by Mother’s Day. It’s an effort that organizers hope will be the beginning of a long-running, self-sustaining project in Charlotte to help fight back against the prison industrial complex and stop the economic drain the justice system puts on black communities. The project is Black Mamas Bail Out, and it is part of a larger effort by Southerners on New Ground (SONG), a regional queer liberation organization, that has spurred a countrywide movement involving different organizations from New York City to Texas. Local organizers say they decided to bring the project to Charlotte following a SONG conference in Highlands, N.C., in early March. Joie Shakur, a local organizer with SONG, said the group was immediately attracted to the idea when they learned about it at the conference. “One of the members from Atlanta had this vision to see black mothers be free and be able to spend Mother’s Day with their families,” Shakur recalled. “From there, folks just started researching in different areas, to see what they could do. We started digging through it and decided we were going to do it.” Local efforts kicked off with a party at the Creative Arts Studios in NoDa on Friday, April 28. Organizers brought clothes to sell while music played and in a corner, brewers with Black Star Line Brewing Co., an allblack, queer-owned brewing company from Hendersonville, N.C., poured free drinks for attendees. With only about 20 people, if that, attending the party, organizers were able to raise $500 in just a couple of hours. Speaking at the party, Shakur explained how exciting it was to see the work the group had put in over the last two months finally turned into action. “It’s a really awesome feeling just to see it materialize, and to know that these are actual moments that will be given back to 10 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

“The bail system in general is just one of the ways that our community gets depleted when it comes to finances and economic resources. Especially folks who haven’t been tried, and the only thing separating them from their families is not having that money. It’s all based on economics, whether you can buy your freedom or not.” -JOIE SHAKUR (ABOVE CENTER), AT A BLACK MAMAS BAIL OUT PARTY WITH ASHLEY WILLIAMS (LEFT) AND GLORIA MERRIWEATHER (RIGHT).

folks on the 10th, 11th and 12th [of May] when we start to bail folks out,” Shakur said. “They hold people for a very long time, while trial dates just keep getting pushed back, but to know that you can allow someone the opportunity to be with their children for Mother’s Day, to be able to celebrate with their loved ones, that’s awesome.”

FOR OTHERS IN the Charlotte activist

scene, the Black Mama Bail Out project is a way to act on things they have learned since last September, when charges filed in relation to the Charlotte Uprising found them working their way through the court system. Gloria Merriweather is still facing charges ranging from felony inciting to riot and misdemeanor assault on a government official to misdemeanor noise violations stemming from the protests in September. Merriweather said they and other

Charlotte Uprising members have sat through their own court dates and watched as other community members left court dejected at not being able to post bail for their loved ones. “What we were really able to see was that, when we go to court, the families that stand up and say, ‘I’m here for this person,’ they’re the ones who get told how much the bail is, and they’re the ones who turn away, faces fallen, because they know they don’t have $1,000 in that moment,” Merriweather said. “They know they don’t have the means to get their people out.” Merriweather said that when people in the courtroom became aware that they were with Charlotte Uprising, those people often asked for help. “You have to remember, Charlotte Uprising was mainly comprised of people under 25 years old,” Merriweather said.

“We gained a knowledge of the courts that we were then able to share with other community members who came into the courts and didn’t have that liaison. So when we realized that we could be that, we found an interest in getting people out of jail.” For Ashley Williams, another Charlotte Uprising leader who is now working on the Black Mama Bail Out with Sister Song, a reproductive justice organization they work with, the project is just a step toward their end goal of eventually abolishing the police state and prison system. “We imagine a world without police and prisons, and we imagine a world where folks are able to keep themselves and their families and their communities safe from harm and protected. So this endeavor is also about educating our communities about what that can look like for us,” Williams said. Williams and Sister Song NC will hold a

RYAN PITKIN

MIMOSAS & ABOLITION May 6, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.; Hygge Coworking West, 2128 remount Road. sistersong.net.

teach-in on Saturday, May 6, to give people a clearer view of what they mean by abolition. “‘We keep us safe.’ We’ve been saying that a lot over the last six months, but for this next event on May 6, I’m really excited to be able to talk about how these are the impacts of not having black femmes in their households and in their communities, and this is what abolition means,” Williams said. “When we talk about abolition, I think people definitely see it one way, or they can’t see it at all, and so what I hope that we’ll do is talk about what those alternatives look like. Like, here is what you do instead of calling the police in a domestic violence situation, or if a friend turns up a little bit.”

IN SEPTEMBER, ONE of the most persistent demands from Charlotte Uprising as an organization was that the city defund — or at least decrease funding for — the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. That’s not likely to happen, as a new city budget presented by city manager Marcus Jones on Monday, May 1, included $6.1 million to go toward hiring 61 more CMPD officers and 25 civilian position within the department. While activists like Williams and Merriweather continue to work toward their vision of abolition, projects like the Black Mama Bail Out serve as a first step in fighting back against a justice system they see as the biggest threat to black communities. They hope to continue the project well past Mother’s Day, recycling what money they do raise by giving those mothers they help the resources they need to keep their jobs and attend their court date, then getting that bail money back and putting it toward getting someone else out. “A lot of abolition is about re-humanizing, rebuilding community and finding ways to engage in injustice that doesn’t involve dehumanization and putting people in cages,” Merriweather said. “So for me, this is perfect because the hope is that, through the bail out, when we bail out Mom and we as a community help her get back to court, we now have that money again and we can go get another person out. And perhaps we can get the person who we bailed out last time involved in the process next time, which builds community inherently. It builds trust, which is something that in marginalized communities is really hard to create tangibly.” Black Mamas Bail Out organizers will offer help connecting mothers with services they need outside of just getting to their court date. That means referring them to services to help with housing, jobs or even something as simple as clothing, if needed. They’ve been canvassing in Section 8 housing projects and other marginalized communities around Charlotte to ask residents about who is in need of help. “It is very much that we want to get

[From left] Gloria Merriweather, Jalisa Horne and Joie Shakur canvass in Villa Heights to raise funds for Black Mamas Bail Out. black femmes out of jail, black moms out of jail, but we had to consider all the stuff that comes along with that,” Williams said. “We want folks to get out of jail, but what if they don’t have a place to live, what if they lost their job because of this? We want them to feel supported. “I really like the idea of anonymously trying to find black moms who exist in this town, but I also like the personalization of it, knocking on folks’ doors and being like, ‘What’s up? And can we help?’”

ORGANIZERS ALSO HOPE the project

can highlight the problems with the money bail system. According to a Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI) report released in January, U.S. taxpayers spend about $140 billion a year — or $38 million a day — to hold the 450,000 people sitting in jails awaiting trial around the country on any given day, many of whom are low-level offenders who would pose little to no risk to the public, if only they could afford bail. Shakur pointed out that, while taxpayers do hold a heavy burden that adds up, the families with loved ones in jail are the ones who pay the most immediate cost, a cost that could ruin them financially. “The bail system in general is just one of the ways that our community gets depleted when it comes to finances and economic resources,” Shakur said. “Especially folks who haven’t been tried, and the only thing separating them from their families is not having that money. It’s all based on economics, whether you can buy your freedom or not.” PJI recommended that court systems conduct formal risk assessments in order to release more defendants on their own recognizance, and found that implementing alternatives to pretrial incarceration — as some jurisdictions around the country have already done — could save taxpayers $78 billion annually.

For Charlotte organizers, however, it’s more personal than that. On the Saturday morning following the Black Mama Bail Out kickoff party, Jalisa Horne joined Merriweather and Shakur to canvass the Villa Heights and NoDa neighborhoods soliticiting support for the project. Horne was still learning about the details of the project, as they practiced their pitch to residents and business owners in the area. Horne said they volunteered to join the efforts after putting themself in the shoes of the mothers languishing in cells on a day meant to celebrate them. “Just hearing that and knowing people who are stuck in jail because they can’t pay for it, it just sounds really ridiculous,” Horne said. “Just imagine if your mother was in jail and she couldn’t afford her freedom. How would you feel? Especially on Mother’s Day, how would you feel being in that situation?” Merriweather, though not a mother, knows that situation all too well. That’s why Merriweather was out on the streets Saturday morning, not protesting but asking for help, and will be on the streets until Mother’s Day asking after those who need help. “We’re asking for minutes to be brought back into our community. If we talk about marginalized communities and the way that prisons literally take minutes and moments away from our households, by showing that we’re able to do this, that’s an empowerment and I think that’s a lot of what’s necessary for liberation and revolution,” Merriweather said. “Do you even feel that you can be free? Do you feel like this is possible for you? To give that to a person, it’s just plain and in your face. You are literally sitting in your jail cell thinking you are going to spend your next few meals there, your next few times sitting on that metal toilet, and that lasts for months for many people. And now you’re out because of random strangers in your community who

give a crap about you. And now they want to host a dinner for you and your kids as well. That’s dope.” RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

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NEWS

BLOTTER

BY RYAN PITKIN

BURN THEM ALL A 61-year-old man filed a police report last week after someone damaged his property through an act of arson. The man called police after someone set fire to a Confederate flag outside of his southwest Charlotte home. A lot of these socalled victims end up being attention seekers who damage their own property so they can spread blame in the media, although this could potentially be a true act of vandalism. Either way, we find it funny.

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IF YOU GOT ‘EM A 19-year-old man was robbed of his iPhone by two men while walking in east Charlotte last week, and they even took the items that could have helped him through the stressful situation. The man reported that the two guys took his phone, his pack of cigarettes and even his lighter. As they ran away, the victim yelled, “Want me to smoke them for you, too?” we hope. SINCE YOU’RE HERE A delivery driver called police to report a customer last week after the suspect pulled what could be called the opposite of a dine and dash. The suspect called Domino’s to order some pizza and other food, for an order that totaled $33.76. He then waited for the driver to arrive at his home in southwest Charlotte, at which time he decided to inform the driver that he didn’t actually have any money, but said he would still take the pizza. Police responded and charged the hungry suspect with fraud through false pretense/swindling. FUR-TICKED OFF Police responded to

Elevation Church in Ballantyne last week after someone committed a vandalism crime that was both anti-religious and ableist. According to the report, three unknown suspects used a permanent marker to draw upside-down crosses “and other markings” all over the handicapped ramp at the church. It’s unclear at this point what the handicapped people did to rile up the vitriolic vandals. Why not draw an LGBT rainbow on the stairs, too?

CLAIM YOUR CAR Another bizarre incident involving handicapped accessibility but not handicapped people occurred near the Hidden Valley neighborhood last week, and the police are now holding onto a car and waiting for the owner to come forward and claim it. Police came across a blue Chrysler 200 parked in a handicapped space without any tags, still running with nobody around. After looking around for the owner, officers

searched the car before having it towed out of the spot. They found a .40-caliber handgun, an assault rifle and more than 50 rounds of ammunition in the car. Officers ran the weapons to see if they had been stolen, which they hadn’t, but officers are still interested in speaking to the owner.

WHAT’S YOUR SLEEP NUMBER A Fort

Mill woman suffered through a startling incident when she ran over a mattress while driving on I-485 in southwest Charlotte last week, but at least there was nobody sleeping on it at the time. The woman said she was driving in the center lane with cars on both sides of her, so she was unable to avoid the multiple mattresses that suddenly appeared before her on the interstate. Luckily, she was driving a GMC truck, although she was pulling an enclosed trailer. Both the truck and trailer were damaged, but the woman was uninjured, and no other accidents involving the mysterious mattresses were reported.

SHOTGUN SWEEPS Sometimes while

cleaning your home, you may find an old pair of shoes or a photo you haven’t seen in a while — if you’re lucky maybe even a $20 bill. But one woman was shocked to find an instrument of death laying around her home while she carried out spring cleaning last week. The woman reported finding a 20-gauge Sears & Roebuck shotgun that she had never seen before. She turned the shotgun in, along with the shells she found alongside it, before her husband came home and tempted her to use it.

BIG NIGHT AHEAD A man was confronted

as he attempted to steal some items for what appeared to be a date night he had planned last week, but he wasn’t missing his special evening without a fight. Security officers from the Target in Blakeney reported that the man attempted to steal a pair of stud earrings, two bottles of wine and a tube of Trojan lubricant. When two security officers tried to stop the man from leaving the store, he assaulted both of them, but was eventually taken into custody and also found to be in possession of Xanax and digital scales.

DON’T TOUCH One would think an

incident of molestation at a local middle school would have garnered some media attention last week, but hardly anyone blinked an eye when a juvenile was charged with the crime at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. That’s probably because he was not charged with molesting any people but with “molestation of fire detection equipment,” for allegedly pulling the fire alarm when he knew there was no fire. Maybe it’s time to change that terminology.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 13

ALLY FREDERICK

Greeson (third from left), pictured at a Save Oak Flat event in Charlotte earlier this year, will be joined by Perry Eastman (far left), chair of All Nations United, and Toni Henderson, (not pictured) chair of the Metrolina Native American Association, for a panel discussion at CPCC on Wednesday.

NEWS

NEWSMAKER

TAKING PRIDE IN THE FUTURE American Indian Party chair fights for indigenous rights RYAN PITKIN

OBERT GREESON has dedicated his life to defending a piece of himself he once hated. Growing up as Jewish and indigenous in a rural mountain town in Georgia that was less than welcoming to minorities made it difficult for Greeson to feel prideful in his formative years, and as a teen he often disowned the indigenous heritage his parents attempted to share with him. In recent years, as Greeson moved to Charlotte and fathered a daughter, he began to fully appreciate his cultural background. The death of his great aunt HatBell, the last of 13 siblings, made Greeson introspective, and he regretted not learning more of her and her family’s story before she passed. HatBell’s death and his daughter’s birth inspired Greeson to become more proactive in not only recognizing his ancestral roots, but defending the indigenous culture that 14 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

historically has been trampled on, extorted and erased. Greeson now chairs the North Carolinabased American Indian Party, an advocacy group that works in various capacities to support indigenous rights in the Carolinas and nationwide. Over the last two years, he has led the fight to rebrand two Gaston County schools — the South Point Red Raiders and the East Gaston Warriors — and convince Charlotte leaders to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, while also working within the local indigenous community on issues including suicide prevention and education rights. In the lead-up to Greeson’s appearance on a panel with nationally renowned indigenous artist and activist Cannupa Hanska Luger discussing indigenous displacement on Wednesday, May 3, Creative Loafing sat down with him in his east Charlotte home to discuss

local indigenous activism and how art plays a role. Creative Loafing: How did you come to be so active in the local indigenous community? Robert Greeson: I grew up in the Georgia mountains, a small town, and there were four Indian families — mine and three others. It wasn’t the best area to be something other than white. So you were trying to assimilate the best you could; it just wasn’t encouraged to stand out or be different. Living in a small town, I tried to fit in. I come from a mixed heritage — American Indian and Jewish — so being an American Indian Jew in the South is not the easiest thing in the world. That mixed heritage, there’s a double-edged sword aspect to it. It can make things very difficult to be too red for white people, too white for red people.

And then you kind of feel like you don’t have a place, or you have the issue of struggling to find yourself, finding where you fit in. Growing up, my mother would drag me to pow wows, and I didn’t want to go. I thought it’s just a bunch of old Indians sitting around, I could be doing something else, playing baseball with my friends. I really ran from it. Especially as I got older in the teenage years when I could kind of advocate for myself more. Then, in college and my 20s, I really struggled. Once I moved to North Carolina and had my daughter a couple of years ago, that’s when I really started to think about her and who she is and who she comes from, and making sure that she didn’t have some of the same concerns and worries that I had growing up and that she could be or do whatever she wants to do without restrictions or racism and discrimination. That was a huge impetus for me being

speak on displacement. How crucial of a role does art play in those efforts to educate people about indigenous issues? The great thing about art is that it’s universal. It’s not like you’re going to the opera and you’re listening to a play in Italian, but even that art can be so powerful that you feel it and it doesn’t matter what language it is. Art has that universal transferability to be understood. Anyone can see — it doesn’t matter what language you speak or what background you’re from — a powerful piece of art can be very moving. It can be a good way to bring awareness to issues. A lot of people these days don’t want to read a book, they don’t even want to read a 10-page article about anything. They want — I don’t know if you could call it instant gratification, I don’t know if you could use that word to describe it — but sometimes you just see a powerful piece of art, and it moves you, and different people might interpret it different ways, but it’s just a very effective way to kind of magnify an issue or make it where more people can feel the intensity of an issue and feel it and be aware of it. I think that’s a highly effective and very universally understood. It’s a way to teach people, whether it’s about American Indian culture and the history, the experiences there and the historical trauma, as well as the beauty and the accomplishments. Art can be very effective in that regard.

ART AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH CANNUPA HUSKA LUGER May 3, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.; Bryant Hall, Sloane-Morgan Building, CPCC Central Campus, 1220 Elizabeth Ave. 704-330-3925. cpcc.edu.

a lot more vocal and aggressive with some of the causes I’m affiliated with, not just in the American Indian community, but in a lot of other minority communities and environmental issues. A lot of the issues are so related that people, if you just trace it back, you’ll see how the fingers are in all the pies, sort of. So a big part of it was her, and then my [grandfather] Paw-Paw was one of 13 children, and less than a year after my daughter was born [in 2015], his sister, my great aunt Hatbelle, passed away. So all those experiences were gone — all that disappeared. That made me sad that my daughter’s not going to know that and I had missed out on some information. That’s why I do what I do and why I’m so passionate about it. It’s all for her. What does the American Indian Party do? It’s an American Indian advocacy organization, a civil rights group, and what we do is advocate for American Indian rights and issues impacting American Indians. It can be hard for lone activists, or even unsafe sometimes, to go out on their own and fight for causes, and sometimes we can serve as insulation or as a platform to help them. It’s a very broad, diverse coalition of individuals and groups. We’re really about raising awareness that we’re still here. Most people are surprised to know that there’s 10,000 American Indians in Charlotte, and from a vast array of different tribes. American Indians in the South face unique challenges. We were the first to be colonized. Some of the tribes out west still have a lot more awareness, historically speaking or identity-wise, and it’s a little bit trickier in the South because our culture and society was decimated much earlier. We were able to hold on to a great deal but there’s still a lot we weren’t able to. What tribe are you a member of? I’ve received so much hate mail, and my tribe has received so much hate mail, that the tribe asked me not to publicly share my tribal affiliation. I don’t share it because some 70-year-old lady on council is sitting down to check her email and look at pictures of her grandkids and she’s got 30 emails saying, “You’re this, you’re this, you’re this,” just because some people really love their racist high school mascots. That’s why I try to insulate that from people. When they can’t hurt you, they go after the people and things that you love, and it’s kind of sad. But people in the American Indian community know my tribal affiliation and they know my experiences.

Greeson with his daughter, Tallulah. I’ve known you for a couple years and you do seem to bring that hatred out of people. What are they so mad at? I usually say what most other people in the room are thinking, they just don’t say. Whether it was with the Citizens Review Board having subpoena power two years ago, whether it was with the campaign contributions from developers, whether it’s about Charlotte being the largest city that doesn’t report contact with lobbyists. That’s not just a campaign finance issue. Who do you think these lobbies are working for? It ties in eventually with environmental issues and neighborhood issues that impact minority communities. It’s all related if you trace it back. There’s all these issues. I just got tired of nothing changing and everyone knowing why but nobody saying it, because that’s not what you’re supposed to say. People are not holding people accountable, there’s a complete lack of transparency and accountability, and I think when you call a spade a spade, some people don’t like that. It’s not hate from me. It all comes because I love things, because I love people, because I love my community and my neighborhood, because I care about other people and not just issues that impact me. I think it’s important to have a dialogue, even with people that you disagree with fundamentally. As soon as you self-segregate or cut off communication, there’s no chance for either person to evolve. Some people shy away from issues that are controversial. They want to play the fence or be non-committal, and I think silence is condonement. It’s not easy to do the right thing. If it

was easy doing the right thing, then everyone would do it. You’ve got to do the right thing all the time, not when it’s convenient, not when it’s easy, all the time. That’s what I try to do. You mentioned how a lot of people really love their racist mascots, and I think a majority of white people are just sort of apathetic about it, like they just sort of roll their eyes about the whole thing. How frustrating is that when you’re trying to explain to folks the reason why it matters to you? I guess people are getting tired of hearing the term cultural appropriation. They think it’s overly P.C., and that’s not it. Some of it ties in to the fact that the direct descendants of those ancestors who outlawed and banned my ancestors’ traditions, customs and ways of life, now try to take that very culture and use it as their own when it benefits them or amuses them, and then they don’t want to hear why we’re frustrated about that. They don’t want to even hear it, they automatically dismiss it as being overly sensitive or P.C. That’s where some of that frustration comes from. But someone who is just ignorant, who is non-native and just ignorant of an issue, that’s OK. It’s OK to be ignorant. It’s not OK to be ignorant and not be bothered by that, to not care and not want to fix that. So a lot of it is public outreach and education and that’s what these events like the one on Wednesday are for. That event will be centered on Cannupa Hanska Luger’s art, which will be on display during a reception after you all

Do you feel like the #NoDAPL movement at Standing Rock helped raise awareness for indigenous rights among non-native people around the country? Will it play into the resistance against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is planned to run from West Virginia to eastern North Carolina? I think it had a bigger effect internally within the American Indian community, because that was the largest gathering of nations. That was a broad coalition to show that we do have power in numbers when we unite, rather than stay fractionalized. The government has done a good job of keeping us fractionalized, keeping American Indians fighting amongst themselves. They’ll have two American Indians sitting at a table, the government is sitting at the table, and they put 20 cookies out there. The government takes 19, and they tell one Indian to watch out for that other Indian, he’s going to take that last cookie. Meanwhile, they have 19. That’s something that dates back a long time … and it was an effective means that started the whole trend of resentment and us pinning ourselves against one another, and false leaders empowering themselves instead of the people being empowered. But lately, more and more, it’s been great to see the unification and the coming together of the individuals from different tribes, different backgrounds. So that’s been helpful with other fights, like with the Atlantic Coastal Pipeline coming up. There’s a broad coalition, the Coalition of Woodland Nations, against that. There are so many in that organization — and I’m just a member of it, not a representative — but there’s such a broad, diverse group there, and that’s when we can be more effective. We’re seeing that renaissance of sorts, so to speak.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 15

“We grew up in South India and more people there eat vegan and not meat or dairy items. So that makes it very easy for us to prepare dishes like this.” -LESLIE LOBO, CHEF AT WOODLANDS Woodlands’ Chana Masala

FOOD

FEATURE

VEG UP Woodlands offers Indian vegan and vegetarian in a tiny strip mall in East Charlotte BY MARK KEMP

T MAY SEEM as though

you’re driving all the way to Mumbai, but if you’re South Indian and want a little tiffin to make you feel more at home in the Queen City, then Woodlands is worth the trip from Uptown to a tiny strip mall in East Charlotte. Or, if you’re vegetarian or vegan and want a little diversion from Bean or Fern, Woodlands would be worth the trip for you, too. But you probably already know this. 16 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

It’s those who are not South Indian and not vegan or vegetarian that this story is for: No matter who you are what you eat, Woodlands Pure Vegetarian South Indian Cuisine is worth that long-ass, 20-minute drive to Charlotte’s eastern outskirts. Not only are owners Leslie and Agnes Lobo two of the more pleasant restaurateurs in the area, but the authentic South Indian dosai and other Indian and Indo-Chinese dishes the couple cook up at Woodlands on Albemarle Road are stellar.

“We grew up in South India and more people there eat vegan and not meat or dairy items,” says Leslie Lobo, Woodlands’ chef. “So that makes it very easy for us to prepare dishes like this, and to substitute items in dishes that aren’t all vegan so that they are vegan.” Leslie Lobos’s relatives opened the local Woodlands — a family-run South Indian food franchise that originated in the Washington, D.C., area — in 2001. He trained at Woodlands’ D.C. mothership before relocating to Charlotte

in 2003 to take over from an uncle who moved on to Orlando, Fla., to start a Woodlands there. Agnes joined the business in 2010, two years after she and Leslie were married. Since then, the Lobos have maintained the basics of the original menu, whose specialty items include the 13 varieties of dosai and two varieties of dosa-like uthappams. Those are the crepe-like pancakes indigenous to South India that are filled with potatoes or spinach or lentils, and often cheeses and chutney. Woodlands is at its best with its South

Indian fare — the dosai and items such as idly (a rice-and-lentil patty often eaten for breakfast), potato bondas (dumplings), vadas (fried lentil fritters), and rice puffs known as pani puris. Two Woodlands items to die for are the lassi — a delicious yogurt-based mango drink — and crispy garlic naan that tastes buttery but not overly greasy. And that’s one of the wonderful things about Woodlands — none of the food is greasy. “If it’s a good sauce, no need for oil,” Lesley Lobo says. “And this food doesn’t fill you up and then two hours later you’re hungry again,” Agnes adds. Woodlands offers some northern Indian fare, too (chana masala, malai kofta, palak and other dishes), as well as a few Indo-Chinese items, such as spicy Sichuan noodles with Indian seasoning. In fact, Leslie returned to India for additional training in Indo-Chinese sauces. “The Indo-Chinese items are different than your regular sauces,” Agnes says. “So, you have to know how to make them different. And these are very popular items now in Charlotte.”

THE LOBOS both were born and raised

in southwestern India — Leslie in Bombay (now Mumbai) and Agnes in Mangalore. And both grew up learning to cook from their fathers. “My daddy was a farmer and we had many family get-togethers and we grew up cooking,” Agnes says. “My daddy is a very good cook, so that’s how I learned. And when Leslie was young, his daddy had a restaurant in India.” Leslie Lobo got his formal training at Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management in Mumbai before moving to the United States in 1998 to join his family in the Woodlands franchise. Since 2003, he’s continued to tweak the local Woodlands menu to appeal to Charlotte’s expanding vegan and vegetarian clientele. “We have had vegan for a long time, but people are more health-conscious now, so there’s more of it,” Leslie says. “And more people have allergies and have to eat glutenfree. So more people are eating this way now.” “We’ve been doing this longer than most,” Agnes adds. “Woodlands started all vegetarian in 2001 and vegan in 2004, so definitely we were one of the first to do this here.” One thing the Lobos recently did to encourage more vegans is mark the vegan items on the menu. “We now mention on the menu all the items that are vegan or glutenfree — we have VG next to the vegan items, for example,” Agnes says. “But there are items that we have that we don’t mention are vegan that we can make vegan. Most items we can make vegan.” The uptick in vegan and vegetarian lifestyles in Charlotte has made an impact on Woodlands’ business, the Lobos say. “We have been very surprised to see so many more people coming in and enjoying vegan and gluten-free meals,” Agnes says. “We used to get more Indian customers, because 10 years ago there were more Indians here. . .” Leslie finishes her sentence: “. . .working at Bank of America and Wachovia and places

Clockwise from left: Leslie and Agnes Lobo, crispy garlic naan, the mango drink lassi, a delicious Woodlands meal.

ALL PHOTOS BY MARK KEMP

like that.” “And then a lot of them moved away,” Agnes continues. “But that didn’t make our business less, because local people started to support us — plus, people are willing to drive from far away just to come eat here.” It’s true. As one Yelp customer noted: “[Woodlands is] certainly not close to us, but the food is delicious, and it was worth the drive.” Think about it like this: You can enjoy that 20-minute drive from Uptown, preparing yourself for a fine Indian meal by listening to a brimful of Asha Bhosle, the famous Bollywood singer immortalized in a 1997 hit by the Indian-led British band Cornershop. Because everybody needs a bosom for a pillow — or at least a dosa for lunch.

WOODLANDS Wed.-Mon, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-10 p.m., closed Tuesday; 7128-A Albemarle Road. 704-569-9193. woodlandsusa.com.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 17

FOOD

THREE-COURSE SPIEL

DIGITAL BAKERY Three questions for Instagram queen Krissy Stewart of Sweet Treatz BY DEBRA RENEE SETH

514 E. 36th St Charlotte, NC

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Monday-Thursday 6am-8pm Friday & Saturday 6:30am-10pm Sunday 6:30am-8pm

18 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

iet

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SHE MADE good grades, went to nursing school and earned a degree in the sciences. The bright-eyed beauty even landed a job at the University of Michigan Hospital, where she worked for five years before deciding it was time for a change. Krissy Stewart didn’t want to be in a hospital anymore; she wanted to be in a kitchen. She had a passion for baking that she’d kept under wraps for far too long — just to land what society considered a “successful career.” But now Stewart was ready to create her own definition of success on her own terms. So she traded her stethescope in for a rubber spatula and launched Sweet Treatz — on Instagram. “I’m only 25,” Stewart says, “so to be honest, [Instagram] is really just how we communicate. I started there because my potential customers were already there, not knowing how fast my business would grow, but knowing it was a great place for people to really become familiar with us.” Turned out to be the best idea she had -- other than quitting that hospital job. What began as a weekend pastime quickly grew into a booming mobile bakery that had Stewart catering major events across Detroit for celebs ranging from city officials to the Harlem Globetrotters. Before long, her Instagramming got word of her baked goods to Charlotte resident and Black Ink Crew star Dutchess Lattimore. That led to Stewart visiting the Queen City to make a cake for a special event. One cake turned into hundreds, and now Stewart has expanded her business to North Carolina, where locals who’ve been lucky enough to taste her treats are buzzing about how delicious they are. From her famous “slutty brownies” to her delectible custom cupcakes, Stewart is making life in the QC much sweeter. We caught up with her to find out how she Instagrammed her way to success. Creative Loafing: Why is Instagram a good idea for those who want to launch a new business? Krissy Stewart: It’s a great way to network and reach a wider audience. Instagram has helped me expand my business from Michigan to Charlotte. But now that my business is growing so quickly, my No. 1 is

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISSY STEWART

Detroit native Krissy Stewart always did everything her parents wanted her to do — until she didn’t. launching a website. And as the business grows, so will my marketing game, but for now Instagram gives me the ability to stay on the pulse, get immediate customer feedback, and keep building my brand. Your treats have a lot of folks in Charlotte already going crazy. What the heck are you putting in this stuff? A real baker never tells his or her secret, but I will say everything is made to order, so our ingredients are always fresh and never frozen. On top of serving the best flavors, I am very meticulous about our presentation because we buy with our five senses. I want every Sweet Treatz to look and taste amazing. So if it doesn’t look absolutely crazy-delicious to the point where the customer is pretty much losing it because it looks so good, I won’t sell it. Everyone wants the secret to my recipes, but it is a secret, right? OK, since you won’t tell, will you at least tell us what not to do when baking? How can we ruin a cupcake? Aside from the obvious burning things up or making things really dry, I would say do not attempt to bake if you’re not passionate about it. If you phone it in, it’s going to taste like it. I put love, time and energy in every single cake, and I think that’s what people love. In order to be successful at anything, even baking, you must love what you do. You can see Stewart’s sweet treats at instagram.com/_sweettreatz (don’t leave out the underscore), and you can order them at sweettreatz2012@gmail.com. Also, be on the lookout locally. You never know where Sweet Treatz’ mobile bakery will pop up next in the Queen City.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 19

THURSDAY

SHIPROCKED! What: Foreign Air and Dirty Art Club will play Snug Harbor’s longrunning Thursday night event, Shiprocked!. Foreign Air has gotten love from Huffington Post and Billboard, which dropped their debut single “Free Animal” and referred to them as “transcendent.” The event’s founder and Charlotte culture guru Scott Weaver, aka DJ Chaka Wolf Fever, is bringing these two great bands in to headline week four in the countdown to the Shiprocked! 10-year anniversary and grand finale. When: 10 p.m. Where: Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. More: $3. snugrock.com.

20 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

THURSDAY

CIRCUS 1903 What: This event aims to bring back the American tradition of sideshows, from the era when acts were actually dangerous. Featured gimmicks and illusions include the classics: high wire walkers, contortionists, jugglers, knife throwing, hammer guys and the not-so-typical set of man-powered elephants. As one person here put it, “At the very least, it’ll be weird.”

When: May 4, 7:30 p.m.; May 5, 8 p.m.; May 6, 2 and 8 p.m.; May 7, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Where: Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. More: $25 and up. blumenthalarts. org.

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

Apathy Wizards TUESDAY

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAVETONE RECORDS

THURSDAY

LEANNA EDEN & THE GARDEN OF What: You’ve seen her perform with an acoustic guitar. You’ve seen her rock out with her band at festivals like the recent BOOM Charlotte. You’ve attended her “listening” parties featuring local artists she wants to promote. You’ve even seen LeAnna Eden on the cover of Creative Loafing. Now, go see LeAnna Eden & the Garden Of headline a show at the Visulite. She’ll be playing songs from her brand new self-titled EP. Also on the bill: popular Charlotte rapper Nige Hood. When: 8 p.m. Where: Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. More: $10. visulite.com.

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

TRAVIS SCOTT

NODA DAY IN MAY

What: He may have been brutally murdered with an axe at the end of SZA’s new video for “Love Galore,” but we assure you, Travis Scott is still alive and well in real life and he’ll prove it at The CMCU Ampitheatre on Friday. Scott’s 2016 studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing Brian McKnight, was a featureheavy sophomore effort, but he’ll be flying solo on the Bird’s Eye View tour, proving he doesn’t really need all that help.

What: It’s officially street festival season, and what better way to kick it off than with a block party celebrating local artists and raising money for Crisis Assistance Ministry? House DJs from crews like MOVE and Double Trouble will be taking shifts throughout the day, including Melodious Funk, Johnny D., Chris Greene, Funktavius and Chuck Martin spinning while you check out the more than 40 arts vendors and a few food trucks.

When: 8 p.m. Where: Charlotte Metro Credit Union Ampitheatre, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd. More: $29.50 and up. travisscott. com.

When: 1-7 p.m. Where: Intersection of 35th and McDowell streets. More: Free. facebook.com/ nodadayinmay.

Le Anna Eden THURSDAY

Circus 1903 THURSDAY

X MONDAY

COURTESY OF CIRCUS 1903

SATURDAY

ARTS FOR ALL | BIKES FOR ALL What: Join docents from Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and The Harvey B. Gantt Center for a stressfree, four-mile ride from Seversville Park to Blue Blaze Brewing that will highlight public, equity-inspired art in west Charlotte. Meet fellow art enthusiasts, community members and cyclists of all abilities riding a relaxed pace along the Irwin Creek and Stewart Creek greenways, followed by lunch or a beer at the brewery. When: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Where: Seversville Park, 530 S. Bruns Ave. More: Free. sustaincharlotte.org/ springride.

PHOTO BY GARY LEONARD

JONATHAN COOPER

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

GOODYEAR ARTS PROM

TECH N9NE

APATHY WIZARDS

What: Dust off your formal wear for an immersive high school prom experience featuring ‘80s and ‘90s jams courtesy of DJ Fannie Mae and Hectorina. It’s Goodyear Arts’ first ever fundraiser, raising money to spruce up their new location which they’ll occupy in June. Meanwhile, we wonder how they will replicate the awkwardness of chaperoned events for high schoolers, and who is going to spike the non-alcoholic punch?

What: This K.C. rapper has been keeping it strange since the late ’90s, and he’ll be chopping it up in Charlotte this week with his full Strange Music posse, including Krizz Kaliko and Chris Webby. Inspired by some of the best oldschool rappers including Schoolly D and Slick Rick, Tech N9ne has navigated the netherworld between underground rap and mainstream entrepreneurship with a dizzying mix of rap styles and dark apocalyptic music.

What: The X legend begins with a 1981 gig. A drunk driver killed Singer Exene Cervenka’s beloved sister on a Hollywood side street minutes before the band went on-stage. In a flurry of grief and rage, X delivered a blistering set that defined the transcendent hope and fury of punk. Now, 37 years on, the fire may have dimmed, but the band’s legacy burns as bright as the burning letter X that graced the cover of their debut album.

When: 8 p.m. Where: Goodyear Arts, 516 N College St. More: $50-1,000. goodyear-arts. ticketleap.com.

When: 8 p.m. Where: The Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St. More: $22.50. fillmorecharlottenc. com

When: 8 p.m. Where: Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E 36th St. More: $25-99. neighborhoodtheatre.com.

What: As self-proclaimed bohemian freak folks, Murfreesboro, Tennessee’s Apathy Wizards reel out pyrotechnic rockabilly runs with lashings of jaunty gypsy guitar and silvery mandolin. Their ramshackle instrumental muscle, wise-ass humor and gruff gutter poetry tips a cap to Tom Waits, but the Apathy Wizards leaven their rollicking eccentricities with a handful of surprisingly delicate tunes. Above all they prove it’s possible to raise a little hell, without being dicks about it. When: 7 p.m. Where: The Station, 1231 Central Ave. More: $5. thestationclt.com.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 21

PHOTO BY STEVEN DANAN

Maf Maddix, Sculpture by Alison Saar

MUSIC

FEATURE

SOUND EQUATIONS Charlotte artist Maf Maddix continues his quest for knowledge BY PAT MORAN

UPPOSE A BEING came from another world, and he played an instrument that we’ve never heard,” Chris McWayne says. “Would we know that it was music?” For McWayne, also known as rapper Maf Maddix and galactic soundscape designer Brother Aten, this otherworldly query is much more than a thought experiment. It’s a jumping-off point for the next stage in his career. For the past 16 years — eight of them in Charlotte — McWayne has been pushing the boundaries and warping the definition of sound as art. As Maf Maddix he’s threaded 22 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

his philosophical soothsayer flow through three albums plus a single dedicated to souljazz poet Gil Scott Heron. As one-half of hip hop duo N’DangR Species, McWayne’s rhymes balanced street-smart grit with vulnerable introspection. His Brother Aten project, featured last month at Gantt After Dark’s Synaesthesia exhibit, summons the swirling sounds of dark matter and bursts of radiation from the galaxy’s edge. This fall, McWayne’s quest to develop his art takes him to England. He’s been accepted at the University of Arts in London, where he’ll pursue a master’s degree in sound arts. A new country and new academic discipline

represents a leap of faith for McWayne, but it’s not his first. Growing up in Baltimore, Md., McWayne discovered early on that he was different from his peers. “We lived in the inner city, the hood and projects,” the 31-year old rapper and musician recalls. “There weren’t many kids doing the things I liked to do. I played soccer and no one did that. Skateboarding — no one did that either.” McWayne’s musical tastes were also off the beaten path: Bjork, Tricky, Massive Attack, drum ‘n’ bass, classical and jazz. Then he found diversion in a big book of knowledge he discovered at his mother’s

house, in particular a section on languages and cultures from around the world. An early aptitude for music was encouraged. McWayne was a soloist with the Baltimore County Chorus throughout grade school, and he learned to play guitar, piano, trumpet and trombone. Then in high school, McWayne started rhyming freestyle with friends. Rhythm and language became a passion for him. “I listened to lyrics that I thought were amazing over and over again,” he says. “I wrote them down, and broke down the sentence structure and different parts of (speech) until I understood what made them so good. Then

I (wrote) verses that hit all of those marks.”

MCWAYNE’S MUSIC interests carried

into college. At East Carolina University, he met Luse Kanze, his future partner in N’DangR Species, at a flag football game. McWayne also started creating his own beats, most of which he sold to other nascent rappers. He transferred to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to pursue a PhD in Anthropology, but a heart-to-heart with his professor and mentor, Dr. Shelly BrownJeffy, changed the course of McWayne’s life. “She had me write a list of things that made me want to wake up in the morning,” McWayne remembers. “I realized that none of those things on the list required a PhD in Anthropology, and that I should try to do what makes me happy.” McWayne started devoting more time to his music, and in 2005 he moved to Charlotte. He started making music as Maf Maddix. Under that moniker, he formed N’DangR Species with Luse Kanze. At the time, McWayne recalls, rap was in a rut from trying to copy hip-hop’s 1990s golden age. N’DangR Species’ “progressive yet raw hip hop” deliberately went against the grain. “We were into artists like Flying Lotus,” McWayne says. “We used those kinds of beats, but kept the rhymes like Mobb Deep old school.” Meanwhile, as Maf Maddix, McWayne renewed his long-standing interest in science fiction and futurism. “My first Maf Maddix album is called Tektite Illah: The Known Unknown.” Tektite Illah is a character created by McWayne and Charlotte artist Marcus Kiser for a graphic novel. In the storyline, Tektite Illah kills his brother Aten. Thus, in 2008, Brother Aten, McWayne’s dark electronic music side project was born. “(Brother Aten) draws a bit from Egyptian and Sumerian mythology,” but it’s also futuristic, McWayne says, adding that he takes issue with term Afrofuturism. “Afrofuturism is just a word for something that already exists. It’s like the word ‘trees.’ Trees exist whether they’re called trees or not.” Since launching Brother Aten, McWayne has continued to expand his artistic web, collaborating with other creators on projects like Nouveau Sud, a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary collective drawn from Charlotte’s dance, acrobatic and theatrical scenes. He did sound design for Matt Cosper’s XOXO theater troupe’s Bohemian Grove, and is currently doing sound design and acting in XOXO’s #CAKE. Eventually, McWayne hit a point where his ever-expanding reach exceeded his grasp. He wanted to create a multi-genre art project called Black Gods, but realized he needed to learn more about lighting, set design, costume design, and directing in order to do his vision justice. “I definitely know that I can’t do everything that I want to do,” he says. “The only way I’m going to do that is through the experience of learning.” So he planned a move.

IN RETROSPECT, the pathways of

McWayne’s life have led him to London, he says, and a relatively new area in academia:

“AFROFUTURISM IS JUST A WORD FOR SOMETHING THAT ALREADY EXISTS. IT’S LIKE THE WORD ‘TREES.’ TREES EXIST WHETHER THEY’RE CALLED TREES OR NOT.” - CHRIS MCWAYNE

PHOTO BY

EYE OF DJ

EHUTY

PHOTO BY BRIAN BT TWITTY

Maf M ad

Maf Maddix

sound art. But what is sound art and what does it mean for the future of art — the way it’s made and the way it’s experienced? “Art is nature,” McWayne answers, adding that the problems our species have with nature are reflected in the strictures we place on art. “Our once-limited ability to understand (nature) caused us to put confined boxes on things that are expansive,” he says. “Now we’re at a place where we’re deconstructing (those) boxes because our minds can comprehend more than our previous definition allowed. Socially we do that by deconstructing boxes like gender, race and sexuality — because those boxes no longer work for us. The same thing is happening with art.”

Even though he has to cross an ocean to find it, McWayne feels fortunate that he discovered this relatively recent discipline that represents a deconstruction of academic boxes. Sound art is a natural and logical fit for him. “I first fell in love with music because it inspired me while I was creating visual art,” McWayne says. “I’d listen to soundtracks while I was drawing. Visuals and sound have always been one to me.” “When I write, I conjure visuals in my head,” he continues. “Then I describe them. When I create beats or produce music, I know that I want the sound that makes me see something.”

dix

MAF’S U.K. HELP FUND Chris McWayne (AKA Maf Maddix) is pursing a Sound Art M.A. at the University of Arts in London (UAL) starting September 25. Sound Art is a fairly new academic discipline in which sound is utilized as a primary medium. He’s launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise the $46,600 he needs to relocate to London for his studies. If you’d like to contribute, go to GoFundMe.com/ualmaf.

BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 23

was happening could see the pattern — here’s this president who’s got financial ties to Russia and a lot of other corrupt places. So when we were talking about what video we were going to make, I said, “This is the one we should do the video for.” You said you didn’t fit in growing up in Mount Holly. How so? Well, it’s odd that I still live in this same town. And I got my own thing now that I’m very comfortable and happy with, as far as a life. But when I was a kid living maybe a mile and a half from where I am right now, it was not a happy time. I lived in a dysfunctional family environment. My parents fought a lot. I was unhappy in school. I was a teenage alcoholic. I went through a lot of failure, then rejection by my peers. I wallowed in self-pity.

Childers

MUSIC

MUSICMAKER Childers, Avetts in the studio.

PRIVILEGE. IT’S A BITCH. David Childers is just another middle-age white guy making jawdropping art BY MARK KEMP

HERE ARE certain singersongwriters, brilliant ones, who live and work in towns across the United States. White guys, in their 50s and 60s, who’ve benefitted in countless ways from the advantages of their demographic classification, yet remain unsung heroes of music in the Woody Guthrie vein. These are guys who never achieved the recognition of a Dylan or Steve Earle. The larger pop world pays little attention to them, but they create anyhow, because that’s what they do. Guys like Nathan Bell, in Chattanooga, Tenn., or Butch Hancock, out in West Texas. Here in Charlotte, we have David Childers. Childers is a longtime social advocate who’s used his Mount Holly law practice to help the poor navigate the complicated social security, disability and SSI systems. In his off time, he’s written poetry, painted and recorded 15 albums of country, folk and rock, sometimes in the experimental realm of late-period Tom Waits records. Childers’ songs revolve around the characters he’s encountered growing up on the rural margins of Charlotte, and the religious zeal that defines those characters’ lives. Since 1995, he’s issued a series of titles like Blessed in an Unusual Way (2002), Jailhouse Religion (2006), Burning in Hell (2007) and Serpents of Reformation (2014). His latest, Run Skeleton Run, comes out this week on Ramseur Records, and Childers has local performances coming shortly thereafter. 24 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMSEUR RECORDS

Skeleton just may be the record that gets Childers, at 65, his largest audience yet. Produced by Don Dixon (R.E.M., Fetchin Bones) and featuring notable contributions from the Avett Brothers, it’s more musically consistent than much of Childers’ other works. I caught up with Charlotte’s best-kept secret of folk music recently to chat with him about the new album and his life, circa now.

What prompted you to come back? I owe an eternal debt to the Avett Brothers, especially Bob. I felt like I wasn’t worth nothing. And he let me know that that wasn’t true. And now [with the latest project], knowing that I was writing songs that are going to be on an album that’s going to be treated the way an album ought be treated — that’s inspiring.

Creative Loafing: I heard Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers approached you about doing this album. Is that true? Childers: Yep. Bob called me up in 2015 and asked if I wanted to do another record with Don Dixon. He told me he wanted to do a record of me that people would take note of, and he wanted to make the best record we could make. I had worked with Don on [Childers’ 2003 album] Room 23, and Bob likes that record a lot. [Ramseur Records head] Dolph Ramseur likes it a lot. And Scott Avett likes it a lot. And they had the power to make this happen [laughs] so I sure wasn’t going to argue with them about it.

Does knowing it’s going to be, as you say, treated the way an album ought to be treated, determine how you write? Nah, not really. I have no constraints. But that’s the beauty of being on an independent label — they let me do what I want to do. And it’s a rare thing for an artist these days to be able to be completely themselves. That’s something you dream about.

Is it all new material? They’re not all brand new, but I’d say the majority of the songs are. There’s one song on it, “Manilla,” that’s pretty old. It was on my [1995 debut] album Godzilla! He Done Broke Out! But I was never happy with that version. And there’s another song, “Bells,” that’s been around for a while, too, but I never played it. I’d forgotten all about it, you know, because I write a lot of songs, and they come and go, and some of them just don’t have the right feel for a particular time. You took a break from music in 2007 and told me at the time that you were done with performing. What was going on? It had become a grind. The band was high energy, and you add to that all the long driving, very little money, and a lot of rejection. You make a record like Room 23 and no label is interested in it — I was frustrated. But anybody that does anything like music or art, or having a law practice, or opening a restaurant — there’s those periods of uncertainty where you don’t know who’s got your back or what the next move’s going to be.

When you say “do what I want to” as an artist, what do you mean? I just want to have good songs. For me, it’s like writing a book of short stories or poems. I want to have songs that are visual and visceral, that tell some kind of story, and that do what I like music to do — make people move or give them an emotional reaction. It’s about the individual songs being fit into a pattern, like a tapestry. [laughs] That’s kind of a cliché, isn’t it? But like Edgar Allan Poe, In Sunshine and Shadow — that was a book I read as a kid that left an impression on me of what a literary work of art should be. One of your little short stories on this record is “Radio Moscow.” That seems to resonate in the current political environment. Was it intentional? Actually, I wrote that song about five years ago, so the whole thing with Trump wasn’t out there then. The song is about my own alienation as an adolescent, where I felt like I didn’t fit in at all, because I didn’t. But if it makes people aware that something really important and outrageous has happened in this country, then I’m all for it. To be honest, I saw that aspect of the song when stuff started coming out last July about [Michael] Flynn and about Malcolm Nance’s book on the hacking of the election. People who were paying attention to what

How does “Radio Moscow” address that? Well, the radio, you know — it told me that there was a bigger world out there; that you could leave this place. And at the same time, reading Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward Angel helped me understand that, too. Hell, I got my folks to send me off to a military school just to get away from here. It felt liberating to me to have guards walking outside the door at night to make sure you’re studying. [laughs] So that song is really a reflection on who I was then. The album opens with one of your poems read by Scott Avett. How different is writing poetry and writing songs? If I’m writing poetry I tend to want to keep it more austere and sparse, although there’s a song on the album, “Ghostland,” that started out as a poem and I converted it into a song by putting a rhyme scheme in it. In my poetry I avoid rhyme schemes. But I think there’s places where the two merge. Like with [the proto-socialist Scottish poet] Robert Burns — he’s called a poet, because he was, but his poems were songs. And of course, William Blake — he had his Songs of Innocence and Experience. You can sing those. So it’s a murky thing. The thing is, I don’t worry about it. For years I had that editor or professor or critic in my ear, chattering away, but I finally wiped all that away. I don’t remember when I did it, but it was a good thing to do. Now that you’re back to recording and performing regularly, do you feel like you’ve found a new groove? Oh yeah. I’d already been feeling like I wanted to do something more like I did back when I started, with an acoustic guitar and songs where you can hear the words and stuff. I had gotten real grouchy for a while. I really didn’t want to have contact with people. I just wanted people to leave me alone. But really, I had gotten sick of myself. I had gotten sick of seeing my name in the paper or my picture here and there. I was a minor-league celebrity and getting sick of it. [laughs] I guess I’m still kind of like that guy in “Radio Moscow.” But you have to give yourself another chance. And that’s what I did. I’ve always been lucky like that. Things happen at the right time. I’ve been jumping from one sinking ship to another for a long time, but I like the one I’m on now. It seems pretty solid. It’s floating along pretty good.

CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 25

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD

MAY 4 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B 21 Savage, Young M.A., Young Nudy (The Fillmore Charlotte)

COUNTRY/FOLK K Phillips + The Roosevelts (Neighborhood Theatre)

POP/ROCK Bad Karol, Liz Basher & The Gentleman of Rhythm (Petra’s) Flower, Glimpses, Cheesus Crust, Huber Breeze (Milestone) Funk You (The Rabbit Hole) Karaoke with DJ ShayNanigans (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Kat, Em & Kerry (Comet Grill) Leanna Eden & The Garden Of, Nige Hood & The Folk Rap Band, Lara Americo, Heiros (Visulite Theatre) SeanRowe, Faye Webster (The Evening Muse) Shiprocked (Snug Harbor) Songwriter Open Mic @ Petra’s (Petra’s) That Guy Smitty (Birdsong Brewery)

MAY 5 COUNTRY/FOLK

Carolina Rebellion - Monster Rebellion Stage: A Perfect Circle, The Cult, Highly Suspect, Eagles of Death Metal, Starset (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Deb Talan, Reeve Coobs (Neighborhood Theatre) Everymen, No Brainer, Smelly Felly (Petra’s) Folk Soul Revival (The Evening Muse) Jangling Sparrows (Birdsong Brewery) Jistu, Tigerdog, The Business People (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Miami DIice, Elevator Jay, Chócola (Snug Harbor) Shannon Ward Band (Sylvia Theatre, York) Sounds on the Square: Girls Rock Charlotte! (Spirit Square, Charlotte) Travis Scott, Khalid (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) Tricounty Terror, The Commonwealth, Van Huskins (Milestone) Wicked Powers (RiRa Irish Pub, Charlotte)

MAY 6 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Abe Reid and The Spikedrivers (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville) Bakalao Stars, Los Acoustic Guys (Snug Harbor)

The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Drake Night featuring DJ Fannie Mae (The Underground)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Doug E Fresh, DJ Skillz (Label) Electric Relaxation f. DJ Skillz (‘Stache House Bar & Lounge)

POP/ROCK The Big Sing: MainStage Choir, Festival Singers, Impromptu (McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square) Boy Named Banjo, Dangermuffin, Pierce Edens (Visulite Theatre) The Broad Pickups (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville) Carolina Rebellion - Black Stage: Opeth, Amon Amarth, Volumes, Wage War, As Lions (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Gold Stage: Gojira, Every Time I Die, Radkey, Dorothy, Mother Feather (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Monster Carolina Stage: Soundgarden, Mastodon, Pierce The Veil, Of Mice & Men, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Black Map (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) 26 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Charlotte Symphony: Pixar in Concert (Belk Theater, Charlotte)

COUNTRY/FOLK Aaron Watson (Coyote Joe’s)

POP/ROCK Bastille (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) The Big Sing: MainStage Choir, Festival Singers, Impromptu (McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square) Bill Noonan (Comet Grill) Carolina Rebellion - Black Stage: Sum 41, Machine Gun Kelly, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Royal Republic, DED (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Gold Stage: In Flames, The Amity Affliction, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Badflower, Cover Your Tracks (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Monster Carolina Stage: Def Leppard, Tesla, Alter Bridge, Rival Sons, All That Remains, I Prevail (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Monster Rebellion Stage: Korn, Chevelle, The Pretty Reckless, In This

MAY 7 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Tech N9ne, Brotha Lynch Hung, Krizz Kaliko, Stevie Stone, Ces Cru & Stitchy C (The Fillmore Charlotte)

POP/ROCK Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Karaoke Party (Snug Harbor) Carolina Rebellion - Black Stage: Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, Syler, Citizen Zero (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Gold Stage: Falling In Reverse, Fozzy, Fire From The Gods, Goodbye June, The Charm The Fury (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina Rebellion - Monster Carolina Stage: Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat, Three Days Grace, Skillet, Beartooth (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Carolina rebellion - Monster Rebellion Stage: The Offspring, Papa Roach, Seether, Motionless In White, KYNG (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Dead Cat, The Resonant Rogues (Petra’s) Dylan Schneider (Tin Roof) G.O.A.T. and Your Mom, Dirty South Revolutionaries, The Fill Ins, Asbestos Boys (Milestone)

MAY 8

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) Motown on Mondays (Morehead Street Tavern) #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)

X, Skating Polly (Neighborhood Theatre)

MAY 9 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Morehead Tavern)

COUNTRY/FOLK Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill)

POP/ROCK The Apathy Wizards! (The Station) El Malpais w/ Cuzco, Sam the Lion (Snug Harbor) Josie Wails (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville) San Fermin, Low Roar (Visulite Theatre) Suicidegirls Blackheart Burlesque (Neighborhood Theatre) Sue Foley (The Rabbit Hole)

MAY 10 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH The Clarence Palmer Trio (Morehead Tavern)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Cyclops Bar: Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor)

POP/ROCK Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy (Neighborhood Theatre) COIN, A R I Z O N A (Visulite Theatre) Hectagons, Violent Life Violent Death, Abacus, Umbra (Snug Harbor) Karaoke with DJ Pucci Mane (Petra’s) Laney Jones & The Spirits (The Evening Muse) Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor) Pluto For Planet (RiRa Irish Pub) Sticks and Stones (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern)

5/4 LEANNA EDEN 5/5BOY NAMED BANJO 5/6 PATRICK DAVIS 5/9 5/10 COIN 5/12 LEWIS DEL MAR 5/24 6/6 HAYLEY KIYOKO 6/11 JOSEPH 6/16 ALL THEM WITCHES 6/22 OLD 97's 7/20 JOHN MORELAND

POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic welcomes singersongwriter Jake Decker (The Evening Muse) The Monday Night Allstars (Visulite Theatre) Shannon Lee and Thomas Stainkamp Dueling Piano’s Night (Vinyl Pi, Huntersville)

NEED DIRECTIONS? Check out our website at clclt. com. CL online provides addresses, maps and directions from your location. Send us your concert listings: E-mail us at mkemp@ clclt.com or fax it to 704-522-8088. We need the date, venue, band name and contact name and number. The deadline is each Wednesday, one week before publication.

THIS SATURDAY

❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈

Moment, Nothing More, Aeges (Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord) Jay Mathey Band (RiRa Irish Pub) Melodime, Matt Hires (The Evening Muse) Mercury Dimes (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Patrick Davis & Midnight Choir, Lauren Jenkins (Visulite Theatre) Shana Blake (Birdsong Brewery) State Champs, Against The Current, With Confidence, Don Broco (Neighborhood Theatre)

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CLCLT.COM | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | 27

ARTS

COVER STORY

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT Jessica Moss wants the Gantt Center to be a space where local artists question the status quo BY KIA O. MOORE This story is the first in a five-part series on women making a difference at Charlotte arts and culture institutions.

Jessica Moss

28 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

PHOTO BY RON STEWART

ESSICA MOSS walks into

the event space at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for AfricanAmerican Arts + Culture with several large bags tucked under her arms. Under one arm is a sack of candy, and under the other, a bucket filled with red-and-white popcorn cups. The treats will serve as flavorful accents to an unconventional movie experience taking place on this Saturday afternoon in early April. Moss is working with my start-up social venture Hip Hop Orchestrated on a series that’s also pulled in arts partners Opera Carolina and WDAV classical radio. This edition of the series, called “The Opera Cut,” is a screening and discussion of the 2006 hip-hop film Waist Deep. The goal is to help attendees see parallels between the film, whose narrative focuses on life on the streets of South Central Los Angeles, and the upcoming Opera Carolina production of Giacomo Puccini’s The Girl of the West, a proto-spaghetti western set in the American Wild West. The human conflicts depicted in each are similar, and the parallels will be put into perspective through a panel discussion involving the veteran Opera Carolina singer George Washington III, OnQ Performing Arts founder Quentin Talley, and Charlotte photographer Jonathan Cooper. As Moss deposits the snacks on a table that will become a self-service concession stand, she approaches Cooper, a first-time panelist who seems slightly nervous about his participation. With an encouraging smile, Moss puts her hand on Cooper’s shoulder, tilts her head forward, looks up into his eyes and tells him in a gentle, motherly tone, “You got this!” That kind of encouragement is all in a day’s work for Moss, 30, who is on a mission to help the Gantt Center become an Uptown Charlotte museum experience that feels more welcoming to young people while also encouraging serious dialogue, conversations and innovation. As the center’s recently hired creative director, Moss’ focus is on building relationships with community members and local creative people who may not always feel comfortable in traditional Uptown arts and culture institutions. Moss serves as a liaison and interpreter, forging communication and addressing needs among diverse groups including young professionals, emerging artists, established patrons and museum staff. She is translating the legacy and mission of this polished Uptown space, preserving and celebrating

black culture through one-on-one meetings with the public — not to mention warm hugs. “There is a space for you at the Gantt Center, but you have to come to the Gantt Center,” Moss says, and that’s her mantra. “Once you demonstrate you want to participate in this world, my arms are open to you.” She briefly pauses, and adds, “My arms are open to you no matter what, but you have to hug me back.” She chuckles softly, her cherrywood brown eyes piercing through her ringlets of bangs, and with a big smile, continues: “I want the Gantt Center to always feel like a warm hug when you walk in the building.”

WHAT JESSICA Gaynelle Moss is doing

at the Gantt Center is nothing short of subversive. She’s helping the Gantt Center bring everyday Charlotteans into an institutional world that can sometimes feel unwelcoming. In truth, Moss’ mission is not unlike the Gantt Center’s original mission. After all, the institution began life in the mid-1970s as the scrappier Afro-American Cultural Center, housed in a church just down Tryon Street in Spirit Sqaure. Moss wants to expand the Gantt’s reach by helping younger members of Charlotte’s creative community understand that the giant new building Uptown is as much their space as it is anyone else’s. “The goal here is to use this space as a platform,” Moss says. “It is a space to create, preserve and celebrate.” The entry point for Moss into the institutional world of arts and culture was a fictional television character of color and a childhood of frequent visits with her parents to museums and galleries. “The Whitley Gilbert character on A Different World was the first place where I saw that art culture would be a world that would welcome me,” Moss says. “This was the first time I saw someone that looked like me that went to college and studied art.” That initial inspiration led Moss to discovering real-life arts heros of color, not unlike the two black female doctoral scholars from UNC Charlotte who conceived the Gantt Center in 1974: Mary Harper, a young assistant professor of English working toward her doctoral degree, and her mentor, Dr. Bertha Maxwell Roddey, the director of the UNCC Black Studies Center. They were a dynamic duo on a mission to create a space to celebrate and preserve African American arts and culture in Charlotte. Institutions like the Gantt Center became

“IT IS NEVER A ‘NO,’ IT’S ‘HOW.’ IT’S NEVER ‘NOT NOW,’ IT’S ‘WHEN.’” -JESSICA MOSS

PHOTO BY JACK HARGROVE

an unofficial after-school program for young Moss, according to her parents, Miriam and Joseph. “Jessica has been going to the museum almost all of her life,” her mother says. “Ever since she could walk.” Miriam Moss’ job-related transfers kept the family moving from state to state during Jessica’s childhood. “I went to, like, 10 schools spanning four states before I even left for college,” Moss remembers. “But this was because both of my parents were the best in their industry at the time. In my mother’s case, imagine being a black woman, raising two children [Jessica’s older sisters] and working full time as a surety bond underwriter in the ’60s and ’70s. This was a very big deal.” So big, in fact, that the company Moss’ mom worked for utilized her strengths by regularly sending her to different locations across the country. And wherever they planted roots, the Mosses became regular museum patrons. Miriam credits her daughter’s love of the arts and warm personality with making it easy for her to adapt and assimilate to new spaces and new people. Her father says it all comes down to her smile and laugh. “Jessica loves people. She has never met a stranger,” Joseph Moss says. “She has a very unique drive to help society as a whole through art . . . to expose people to art who have never been exposed to it before, or who have never been in touch with museums or culture. She wants to share this experience with others.” That sentimental connection to cultural and artistic spaces, and Moss’ drive to share them, comes across in her one-on-one meetings with local artists to come up with ways to get them engaged with the Gantt Center. One such artist is Janelle Dunlap, 31, the Gantt Center’s first-ever social justice artist in residence. “I mentioned to Jess a while back that I was interested in continuing my work in social justice, but I needed the freedom and flexibility to execute my ideas,” Dunlap says. “She helped me craft my proposal to the Gantt Center as a social justice creative in residence as well as helped me pull my vision together for my grant proposal to Unite Charlotte.” Voila! “We won the funding.” Dunlap had connected with Moss through a friend at Common Market. “I learned that she had just returned to Charlotte from grad school in Chicago; I’m from Chicago, so it

From Allison Saar’s “The Nature of Us” exhibit at the Gantt.

The Gantt Center

was an instant hit,” Dunlaps says. Once Moss and Dunlap began a dialogue, ideas of how to integrate Dunlap into the Gantt Center ecosystem began to flow. “Jessica is a visionary, so every discussion you have with her is pretty much going to generate thousands of ideas,” Dunlap says. “She has mastered the art of balancing quirky and business savvy. She is someone who you’ll crack up laughing with for 20 minutes over nothing and then she can flawlessly transition straight to the business of orchestrating boardroom meetings.” Moss’ ability to pivot quickly from work to play, coupled with her passion for creating innovative learning spaces, is pulling her into the world of pedagogy. Her great hope, she says, is for the Gantt Center to fill an academic void. “The reason why I feel like the Charlotte art scene struggles the way that it does is because we have no MFA programs,” Moss says. She’d like for the Gantt Center to be a place for organic art scholarship, where artists learn from each other and pose tough questions through their work. She sees the Gantt Center as a sort of experiential MFA program. “Schools are the seeds of thought,” Moss says. “When students are around, there are

conversations, there is urgency. People are asking questions.” The intensity of her tone increases when she becomes excited, and Moss is almost always excited by what she’s doing. “They are experimenting,” she continues. “They are pushing the envelope. That’s what students are for: asking questions and learning. But, when that Master of Fine Arts scholarly space is absent, the community suffers. Because then, there is no real space to cultivate artists.” Moss’ solution comes in the form of a question: “How can the Gantt Center be that space?” One of the methods the Gantt Center uses to support local artists is to invite them in — all of them. “If you come in with your painting under your arm, I can listen to you and we can talk,” Moss says, but she adds that there’s a process. “I cannot just take [the art] from under your arm and hang it on the wall,” she says. “It’s just not the order of operations. However, I want to support you still, and the museum gift shop may be the place we can start.” Moss is using the Gantt’s first-floor gift shop as an entry place to display local art. “The levels of floors between the space [at the Gantt Center] are arbitrary,” she says. “The fact that you are shown in the building is what matters. What the building is encompassing is this spectrum of local emerging, mid-career,

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE HARVEY B. BANTT CENTER FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS + CULTURE

and professional artists of all capacities.” She wants to flip the script, take out hierarchical ideas about artists in order to find ways for up-and-coming black creators to be displayed next to proven black originators. Moss is always asking herself, “How can I put you, as a local artist or emerging artist, next to the professional work of an Allison Saar? Which then only elevates your career and your experience.” If the Gantt Center’s Uptown location and polished exterior suggests to some emerging black artists that the place is not for them, Moss would like to have dialogues around that topic. “When folks come to me and say they want to do something at the Gantt Center, it starts with a conversation,” she says. “Regardless of who you are, let’s talk. Tell me what you are into. Let’s not worry about money at this moment. Let me know what your goals are, then I can think about how I can actually make your goals into something feasible. “It is never a ‘no,’ it’s ‘how,’” she adds. “It’s never ‘not now,’ it’s ‘when.’ Or, it’s ‘Let’s think about this in a different way.’ But know that I hear you, and I am here to listen to you.”

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ON A SUNNY Friday in Plaza Midwood,

the first day of the fringe-arts festival BOOM Charlotte in late April, Moss and Dunlap are in the middle of a lunch-break conversation after installing an interactive social-justice art piece, Queen’s Cusp, in front of Snug Harbor. But before their break ends, Moss learns that a problem has come up elsewhere, and it demands a solution. Moss had joined BOOM Charlotte to create a pop-up gallery, the Hue + Shade Lounge, at the International House the following day. The walls of the International House gymnasium would become an impromptu gallery, one of them a live-art display showcasing the mural skills of artists DAMMITWESLEY and narly. In all, the popup gallery would involve works by 11 artists, who planned to leave their pieces at the International House on this Friday. But a kink in the plan has arisen: it seems the International House is being used for another event, and all of that art will have to be stored somewhere else. Moss’ cool demeanor and ability to pivot quickly turned what could have been a crsis — artworks in limbo — into no big deal. By morning, the art would be hung and the show would go on. Moss had her artists’ backs. “The artists are the conduit for everything,” she says, explaining how she found the drive to quickly fix a potentially unfixable situation. “They find and plant the seed, they care for the plant, they water it and help it grow so that it can bear fruit. We all benefit from the fruit, but often don’t value the farmers. This is problematic.” Finding solutions and quickly adapting is not new for Moss. Her family’s move from Southern California to North Carolina during her high school years completely changed the trajectory of her arts career. “I had started honing my art skills at Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana during junior high and my sophomore year, and had decided to study musical theater,” she says. And just as she had found her groove, she was uprooted. “When I came to North Carolina, obviously theater and acting, those types of arts, are not readily available, or as well-supported as they were in Los Angeles and Southern California,” Moss says. So she had to pivot. “Coming here and familiarizing myself with this climate, I remember auditioning for my first play at Myers Park High School,” she remembers. “I got a part in the school production, but I just remember thinking, ‘Yeah, OK, this is fun, but what else is there?’ I began wanting to explore the other art disciplines to see what was out there.” She found her way back to drawing, and with the guidance of a female art teacher of color, Moss transitioned seamlessly from the performing arts to the visual arts. “It was like I figured out that there was still a pencil in my hand,” she remembers. “So I stopped acting, literally; there was a shift and I just began investing my time back into drawing. “My art teacher, Mrs. Wu, who is still teaching art at Myers Park High School, was really a huge support.” Moss says. “She checked you constantly. If you did not have a reason for doing what you did, you would have to go back 30 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOOM CHARLOTTE

to the drawing board and learn why you made the decision that you made. Learning that concept early on, in relation to art, has been something that has made me want to continue to invest in the arts.” After high school, Moss headed to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., to study painting, drawing and printmaking. Upon graduation, she had a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, a sharpened ability to create 2D artwork — but no job. Moss shares the all-too-familiar millennial graduation story. “Let’s paint the picture: It’s 2009, the economy is bad,” she says. “I graduate with a BFA in painting, drawing and printmaking. What is that going to do for me in my career? What jobs are there for me? There weren’t any, so I worked in service. That afforded me the opportunity to continue to make my art work and focus on it while still making an income.” After four years in the service industry and doing art on the side, Moss decided to take a step toward art administration. She enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013 to pursue a Masters in arts administration and policy management. When she graduated, the Gantt Center came knocking. Now 10 months into the job, Moss finds herself thinking a lot about schools and students and budding artists and nationbuilding. In conversations she’s always verbally navigating her way to solutions, her volume crescendoing when she finds her answers. And the answer always comes around to making the Gantt Center more inviting to young people. “If I continue to grow a long list of local artists, and bring them into the space, and give

Hue + Shade Lounge artists (Clockwise from left): Alex Delarge’s street art; DAMMITWESLEY’s live painting; Charlotte painter Jaianna contemplates her work. them a platform to do their art and make them feel like this space is their space — because it should be and it is — then we now have an army of local artists all learning from each other.” Moss explains why this “army of local artists” matters to tCharlotte. “When that happens, it makes the entire city different,” she says. “This is where we create a cultural landscape, and Charlotte becomes known as a city where artists and innovators come to ask questions and push beyond the status quo.” Moss’ open arms and experiential-

learning approach in an institutional setting may not be the traditional mindset associated with Charlotte’s Uptown arts scene, but she truly believes that pouring energy into the next generation of artists of color is necessary to continue building on the Gantt Center legacy started by Dr. Harper and Dr. Roddey more than 40 years ago. In the end, Moss believes the only way to spur innovation is through questioning the status quo. BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

Michael Fassbender in Alien: Covenant (Photo: Fox)

ARTS

The gang’s all here in Baywatch (Photo: Paramount)

FILM

SUMMER’S SIZZLING CINEMATIC SLATE Look for aliens, apes and one atomic blonde BY MATT BRUNSON

T’S PROBABLY safe to assume that, in the money-soaked minds of Hollywood executives, the summer movie season unofficially began with the April 14 release of the box office smash The Fate of the Furious. But even La La Land suits are bright enough to know that tossing out the word “summer” while everyone is still being pelted by April showers would be absurd, so the summer movie season will officially commence as usual with the first weekend in May. Of course, never mind that the rest of the country pretty much considers Memorial Day weekend as the true kickoff of the hot-weather season — studio heads can’t be expected to have that much patience, so we have all grown accustomed to accommodating their benign bean-counting. At any rate, approximately four dozen movies are expected to open locally between the start of May and the end of August. Here are sneak peeks at some of these films — one per release date — followed by checklists of the remaining titles. MAY 5: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 further explores the far-flung adventures of

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his otherworldly posse (including baby Groot) and also finds him coming face to face with his father Ego (Kurt Russell). Also: The Dinner. MAY 12: Two American soldiers (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena) are pinned down behind a crumbling wall by an Iraqi sniper in the drama The Wall. Also: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword; Snatched. MAY 19: Ridley Scott, the director of 1979’s Alien, returns to helm Alien: Covenant, the Prometheus follow-up in which a space crew lands on an uncharted planet and encounters decidedly unfriendly extraterrestrials. Also: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul; Everything, Everything; Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer. MAY 26: The latest vintage TV series to get resuscitated for movie theaters, Baywatch stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron as bickering lifeguards who pool their muscles when drug dealers infest their beach. Also: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. JUNE 2: Teased via her supporting role in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the

Amazonian superheroine finally receives her own motion picture with Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot as the powerful princess who teams up with an American officer (Chris Pine) to fight in World War I. Also: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. JUNE 9: As the world faces a devastating threat, a family man (Joel Edgerton) seeks to protect his loved ones from evils that rest closer to home in the horror yarn It Comes at Night. Also: The Mummy. JUNE 16: The animated Pixar offering Cars 3 finds an aging Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) doing his best to prevent a younger crop of racers from making him obsolete. Also: All Eyez On Me; Paris Can Wait; Rough Night. JUNE 23: The fifth entry in the seemingly endless series, Transformers: The Last Knight finds the now-leaderless Transformers picking fights with the humans, forcing Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) to come up with a game plan. JUNE 28: Writer-director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) is behind the wheel of Baby Driver, with The Fault in Our Stars’ Ansel Elgort as a music-lovin’ getaway driver

dividing his time between a beautiful woman (Lily James) and a ruthless mobster (Kevin Spacey). JUNE 30: The animated sequel Despicable Me 3 finds Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his Minions returning to combat former child star and nefarious villain Balthazar Bratt (South Park co-creator Trey Parker). Also: Amityville: The Awakening; The House. JULY 7: Following his debut in Captain America: Civil War, the latest incarnation of Peter Parker/Spider-Man (following Tobey Maguire’s successful run and Andrew Garfield’s wince-inducing at-bat) headlines Spider-Man: Homecoming, in which Peter (Tom Holland), still being mentored by Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), runs afoul of a new villain known as The Vulture (Michael Keaton). Also: The Big Sick. JULY 14: War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter in the revived franchise, finds simian leader Caesar (Andy Serkis) matching wits with a human military officer SEE

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ARTS

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(Woody Harrelson) intent on wiping out all apes. Also: Wish Upon. JULY 21: The evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, is the focus of writer-director Christopher Nolan’s World War II drama Dunkirk, starring Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Bridge of Spies Oscar winner Mark Rylance. Also: Girls Trip; Maudie; Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. JULY 28: Based on a graphic novel, Atomic Blonde filters Charlize Theron through the 007 template as she plays an MI6 agent tasked with smuggling a valuable package out of Berlin. Also: The Emoji Movie. AUGUST 4: After years of false starts, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower finally reaches the screen, with Idris Elba cast as the heroic Gunslinger who must protect the world from the evil Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey). AUGUST 11: Director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) returns to World War II with the import 13 Minutes, telling the true story of the ordinary German citizen (Georg Elser, played by Christian Friedel) who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939. Also: Annabelle: Creation; Wind River. AUGUST 18: A bodyguard (Ryan Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming (Photo: Columbia)

Reynolds) is assigned to protect a hitman (Samuel L. Jackson) who’s set to testify in the action comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard, costarring Salma Hayek and Gary Oldman. Also: The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature. AUGUST 25: A former FBI agent (Tommy Lee Jones) and a former lawyer for the Mob (Morgan Freeman) put aside their differences as they attempt to survive a hit in the action comedy Villa Capri. Also: Polaroid; Tulip Fever. AUGUST 30: Known in other countries as Ballerina, the Canadian animated feature Leap! centers on a young girl learning to dance and features the vocal talents of Elle Fanning, Kate McKinnon and the great Mel Brooks. LIMITED: Sofia Coppola serves as writer and director on The Beguiled, a remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood drama about a wounded Union soldier (here played by Colin Farrell) whose presence causes conflict at an all-girls school run by a repressed teacher (Nicole Kidman). Also: The Book of Henry; Brigsby Bear; A Ghost Story; An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power; The Lovers; Menashe; My Cousin Rachel; Patti Cake$; Step; 3 Generations.

The Pride stars: Steven Buchanan (shirtless) and Cory Collins (suited).

ARTS

PHOTOS BY RAMSEY LYRIC

THEATER

SPLIT PERSONALITIES ‘The Pride’ presents two takes on gay pride — 50 years apart BY PERRY TANNENBAUM

HETHER IT’S Moises Kaufman’s Gross Indecency, chronicling the downfall of Oscar Wilde, or Martin Sherman’s Bent, depicting gays imprisoned by Nazi Germany at the Dachau death camp, compelling dramas written during the past 25 years have repeatedly reminded us how far gay rights have progressed. Yet progress can be precarious. Within the last year, we’ve seen the passage of HB2 locally and the imposition of Stalag Trump nationally: relapses and backlashes are still very possible. Besides the occasional wave of reactionary politics and demagoguery, we must acknowledge that there’s more to quality of life — gay or straight, First World or Third — than laws and rights. That’s a key reason why Alexi Kaye Campbell’s Olivier Award32 | MAY. 4 - MAY. 10, 2017 | CLCLT.COM

winning drama, The Pride, promises to be so fascinating in its Charlotte premiere this week at Spirit Square. Campbell compares 1958 with 2008 by placing the same three people in both eras — not 50 years older in the new millennium but, by some freak of reincarnation or misaligned parallel universes, the exact same people of the exact same ages. Of course, their identical essences are shaped by their upbringings and the times they’re living in. So outwardly, vocationally and temperamentally, we will see that the Oliver, Philip and Sylvia of 1958 are different from those we’re reacquainted with in 2008. Costume changes and music cues will keep us from falling off the merry-go-round as we circle back and forth between the two eras.

ARTS

THEATER

“With the first shift to 2008,” says Queen City Theatre Company artistic director Glenn Griffin, “it might be a little jarring for the audience to fully understand that we have shifted to a different time plane, but after the first few minutes it becomes completely understandable. How the characters dress in 1958 and again in 2008 is also incredibly different. I have worked extremely hard with the cast on body language of both decades, and how society norms would influence how they would do everyday actions from sitting, talking, acting, etc.”

PHILIP IS a real estate agent in 1958,

married to Sylvia, an illustrator who brings Oliver into the picture when they collaborate on a children’s book he has written. To Philip, Oliver’s advances are a mortal threat: yielding to them risks everything. Jump to 2008 and Philip is a photographer who has already committed himself to Oliver, who is now a journalist. Entering such relationships is no longer an existential threat — but that is the problem. Enough of a problem to scrutinize the presumed benefits of social progress. “In 50 years,” Griffin notes, “so much has changed, but is it all for the better?” Maybe not. “In 1958, it was illegal to be gay, which put a huge barrier up when it came to relationships in general,” he continues. “In 2008, it is not illegal, but technology and sexual freedom have also put a large barrier up when it comes to close relationships. With different phone apps, it is so easy to find a sexual partner 50 feet away from you, hook up with them, have sex, and then they will leave. There is so much freedom now, which is great, but it’s getting in the way of human connections, the real type, the one that lasts.” Bringing anguish to poor Philip at 50-year intervals, Oliver is likely the most fascinating creation in Campbell’s drama. After a hiatus of just over eight years, Steve Buchanan is returning to Queen City Theatre Company — and Duke Energy Theater — to slip into Oliver’s skin (or skins). In the space of a couple of months before leaving for New York in 2009, Buchanan ranged from Jason at Queen City, the hunky quarry of Valmont’s seductive powers in Dangerous (an all-male update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses), to Riff, the leader of the Jets in Davidson Community Players’ West Side Story. Buchanan finds elements of both those diverse roles as he prepares for The Pride: the self-assured Riff inside 1958 Oliver and the wild, free attitude of Jason in the 2008 edition. Though he’s not at all uncomfortable with his sexuality and questioning of the convention of monogamy, Buchanan admits that being two different people in the same skin, interacting with the same pair of people 50 years apart, was difficult at first. It had to be. Imagine walking into a bare rehearsal space and trying to create slightly different selves, from scene to scene, in two different stories — even though you’re performing with the same people in the

THE PRIDE May 4-13; $23-25; Duke Energy Theater at Spirit Square, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. queencitytheatre.com.

same clothes with the same fictitious names in both stories. “As I progressed thru the script and exploring with Glenn in various ways, I came to terms with exactly who I want Oliver to be,” Buchanan says. “It’s definitely been a struggle at times to nail down certain reactions to very similar circumstances. Glenn has been an excellent guide. We have explored the two worlds by watching documentaries, photos — even 1958 gay pornography — and he shared his own research and knowledge making this show come to life for us.” Griffin didn’t see either the original 2009 London version of The Pride or the 2010 offBroadway import directed by Joe Mantello for the Manhattan Theatre Club, and as a director, he prefers it that way, trusting completely to his informed imagination. Getting 1958 right was Griffin’s primary challenge, but he also devoted time to 2008, and in directing the show, he had to give equal emphasis to both eras. Eventually, he decided the best way for his actors to look at themselves and their stories was through the lens of reincarnation. “How often have these same three characters been meeting, interacting, falling in and out of love until they can finally get it right?” Griffin asks. “All three want the same thing in both decades. Sylvia wants to be a wife and mother, be loved, but have a satisfying career in the arts. Oliver wants to find love with Philip, but can’t get beyond anonymous sex. Philip, on the other hand, wants to love Oliver, but can’t get past what society is telling him about this same-sex relationship.” Parallels and differences, parallels and differences. They swirl around in this play, and they swirl around us. Beyond Trump and HB2, which might seem to change the conversation, Griffin notices that in Chechnya today, they’re entrapping gays in very much the same way they did in the U.K. after WW2. Amid such uncomfortable echoes, the contemplation of transmigrating souls — and what they want — may be soothing. Buchanan is striving to convey sweet coherence in the face of historical and societal flux. “There is a stark difference in 1958 and 2008 Oliver as it pertains to his social lives,” Buchanan says of the journey. “His ride feels very much like a wave. Ups and downs, calm to belligerent. Playing Oliver is one of the greatest challenges I’ve undertaken and I’m very proud of my work. I really hope you can see Oliver as a soul longing for love and acceptance. As a soul who is vulnerable and just the right kind of crazy.”

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NIGHTLIFE

WHO’S THE BRIDE TO BE? NOT ME. Mommy-daughter date night ends with trip down the aisle “LET’S TAKE A pic of you holding the bag

beautiful florals that would serve as the backdrop for the ceremony. and send it off,” my mom said as we sat in While a violinist and harpist played John the ceremony room at Noah’s Event Venue Legend’s “All of Me,” we wondered if the located off of Yorkmont Road. I looked at the “fake ceremony” would simply be random swag bag that read: To have and to hold all people. Please. I would love to get paid to your wedding inspiration.” *insert actual LOL do this myself and live out my childhood moment* My mom would have me pose with dreams of a white dress without having this bag and pretend like I’m getting ready to to deal with the drama of relationships. A get married … little did she know the drama spokesperson greeted us, “Our goal is to I’d have the following week. But I digress. inspire brides and grooms, support local A few weeks ago, I was at Common Market businesses and encourage healthy and in Plaza Midwood with friends of friends. committed marriage. Keep in mind, this is a One of the guy’s girlfriend’s asked something party, not a performance.” along the lines of, “Have you heard about To our surprise, the couple, decked out something called ‘The Big Fake Wedding?’ in suit and wedding gown, were already I found it on Groupon for $10. Apparently, married and were renewing their vows after you go to a fake wedding ceremony and then two years of marriage. As they recommitted you can attend a reception and have free themselves to one another, something fell in drinks. We should go!” Umm, free drinks? my eye but it wasn’t a tear. Their ceremony You know I was down. She’s much closer was short, just like I like them and to marriage than I am so I thought then we were invited to make our it would be fun to go with her. I way into the reception hall. responded, “Yes, let’s do it!” We sampled food from Within the next couple one of my fave restaurants, of days I was ready to Aria, while we oogled at the make the purchase. breathtaking table décor. I took a look at the Each table had its own Groupon and began to theme and in the center stalk anything related to of the room, a tent for “The Big Fake Wedding” the lovely couple that was on Google. After some fit for a princess. While my research, I gathered that AERIN SPRUILL mom made her way around the event is designed for the room collecting cards and wedding planners, engaged “planning for my wedding,” I folks and the like interested in avoided being asked for the fifth time, exploring local vendors and/or venues “So when’s the date?” and the awkward for wedding ceremonies. I didn’t fall into any conversation that followed. “Oh no, I’m just of those categories, but I repeat, there were here having mommy-daughter date night.” going to be free drinks. You know what that meant, I was waiting in I called my mom super excited to tell her line at the minibar. about the not-so-drunken pregame event The wedding party must have taken shots I’d be going to. She loves weddings and after having to stand in front of all these anything “pretty” so I knew she’d approve. A strangers for an intimate moment, because couple days later, she decided she wanted to next thing you know, they were all in the go, too. She couldn’t celebrate my birthday middle of the dance floor leading the guests with me the weekend of the event, so she in a line dance to “The Wobble.” I watched my thought it would be fun to spend time mom’s sober eyes light up as she turned to me together before I left for the beach. That’s in excitement — she loves your stereotypical when we found out the Groupon had ended “black event” line dances. She was in heaven. — she didn’t have a ticket, and neither did We stayed until 9 p.m., when the event my friend. Womp, womp, womp. She went was supposed to be over, visited the photo to the official website and purchased a ticket booth and set up shop at a table like it was for $25. After all, I was so worth it. made just for us. Despite no RSVP (whoops) we had no The event only takes place once a issue getting in. We were only 15 minutes year, but apparently, they travel around away from the ceremony so I opted out of to different destinations all over the U.S. visiting the vendors beforehand to grab a Whether you’re looking for some fun with good seat. I mean, how many times have you your single gal pals or you’re planning for made it on time to a wedding and snagged your big day, The Big Fake Wedding won’t prime seating? Despite being located near disappoint. Be sure to check it out next year, and surrounded by the business parks off I promise it’ll be worth every second — if of Tyvola, you wouldn’t have even been able you’re down with free drinks. to tell once you were seated in front of the

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CROSSWORD

FOWL TASTING ACROSS

1 Kitchen head 5 Sail holders 10 Belt locale 15 Swedish auto 19 Verdi slave 20 Greek market of old 21 Act announcer 22 Big, wild cat 23 Start of a riddle 26 See 129-Across 27 In a way, informally 28 Tour crew member 29 Awaiting 31 Sit-up muscles 33 Below zero: Abbr. 34 Cozy retreat 36 Ear-related 37 Cheering words 40 Riddle, part 2 45 Et -- (and others, in Latin) 46 Like -- of sunshine 47 Like half the integers 48 “-- culpa” 49 Nation south of Kenya 51 -- tai (cocktail) 53 Feline zodiac sign 55 Titanic call 58 Riddle, part 3 63 “The Good Wife” airer 65 Bucks and bulls 66 Attach 67 Lt.’s underling 68 Bandit-hunting band 69 Keys hitting piano keys 71 Heckling 73 Giggle sound 74 Scoundrel 75 Sharp left or right in a ring 76 Carry- -- (plane totes) 77 Shearable male 78 Little kitchen raider 79 Riddle, part 4 84 Well-suited 85 Special time span 86 Hurly-burly 87 Masses near tonsils 90 Big tippler 92 Ring king Muhammad 94 Students at Yale 95 Small cut 96 End of the riddle 102 Like quiche 103 “No men” palace area 104 Longtime delivery co.

105 Wrestler’s win 106 Alley- -- pass 108 Cuts into the surface of 110 Juarez wife 113 “The Lorax” author 117 Concealed obstacle 118 Riddle’s answer 122 “Citizen” of film 123 Pass on 124 Slip away from 125 Gillette brand name 126 -- -Pei (kind of dog) 127 ISP customers 128 Fix, as a bow 129 With 26-Across, skills of the past

DOWN

1 Raven calls 2 Old Ritz rival 3 German river to the Fulda 4 Daydream 5 -- -jongg 6 Stress or sun, to some 7 Big Apple district 8 Hooky-playing 9 Smoothing machine 10 Existed 11 Grant with six Grammys 12 I, to Hans 13 Perceiving 14 Memphis loc. 15 Patty flipper 16 Northern lights, e.g. 17 Acela offerer 18 In a low way 24 Diner’s bill 25 Prefix with byte or watt 30 In no peril 32 Welsh city and county 34 Pulled off 35 Opposite of crosswise, archaically 37 Traitor type 38 Menu phrase 39 Retrospect 41 Ovine zodiac sign 42 Coal-rich German region 43 Make null 44 With frenzy 50 More wan 51 Fashioned 52 Rival of iOS 54 Canon shooter line

55 Gliding like a supermodel 56 Gridiron great Merlin 57 Clay target sport 59 Judo-like cardio fad 60 Anxious 61 Hypothetical missing links 62 Trouble 63 Magna -- (document of 1215) 64 Weakly hit fly ball 70 Give a line to 71 Many a Net game 72 Grooving on 73 Likes at once 75 Rattle 77 Base of a number system 80 Crumbly cheese 81 Drizzle, e.g. 82 Barn bundle 83 Sachet bit 88 Cutting barb 89 KGB figure 90 Actor Rod 91 Resistance measures 93 “-- Miserables” 94 Make heroic 96 Scrambling kitchen tools 97 ESPN’s Storm 98 Mysteries 99 Shoves 100 Duel blade 101 Evening meal 107 --Kosh B’Gosh (clothing brand) 109 Pale tan 110 “The -- the limit!” 111 Lick soundly 112 German auto 114 Until 115 Quaint letter starter 116 See 120-Down 119 -- -de-France 120 With 116-Down, a tot travels in it 121 “Well, I’ll be!”

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youth, two gimps, Christ on the cross, the Easter Bunny, two weeping women, and the Easter Bunny’s smoking-hot leather master took to the stage at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon, for a live taping of the Savage Lovecast on Easter weekend. Audience members submitted their questions on cards (I take my questions like some of you take your men: anonymously)—but with Rachel Lark and the Damaged Goods and comedian Nariko Ott on the program as well, we didn’t get to many questions. So I’m going to answer as many of Portland’s questions as I can in this week’s column.

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We’ve been sleeping with another couple for three months (first time my BF and I opened our relationship). How do I suggest full penetration with the opposite partner? At this point, we just do oral and that’s the “groove” we’re in.

out? After you’ve applied lube to your finger and his butthole — which you’re allowed to do only after you’ve asked him if you can insert your finger in his butthole and after he’s consented to having your finger in his butthole. I want to try anal, but I am scared of getting poop on my partner. Is an enema enough? Properly administered, an enema should be more than enough. But with anal, as with liberal democracy, a good outcome is not guaranteed. Sometimes you do your homework and your prep, and everything still comes to shit. How do we play around with opening up our relationship as parents of a 1-year-old? We barely have enough time or enough sleep to keep our own relationship juicy.

Only-oral-with-others may be this couple’s Play around in theory preferred groove and the for now — lots of dirty lane they want to stay in. DAN SAVAGE talk — and put theory If they’re only up for the into practice after your kid is “soft swap,” as it’s known in a toddler and you’ve landed a swinging circles, penetration isn’t reliable babysitter. gonna happen. But you should feel free to ask for what you want—at the very My girlfriend and I are pretty grossly least, you’ll get some long-overdue clarity in love and very affectionate, especially about their boundaries. after we’ve just had sex. Should we make an effort to tone it down a bit around a Is squirting pee? We know that third we’ve just fucked around with? Or chemically it’s similar, but is it REALLY? should we just be ourselves, and if they don’t like it, oh well? I’m tired of this debate, so consider this my final answer: So what if it is pee? Be yourselves—but make an effort to include your third in those oxytocin-infused My girlfriend asked me to make out displays of postcoital affection. Unless your with another guy. Her fantasy. We met third was inconsiderate or creepy during the a really pretty gay boy at a house party sex, or is anxious to go immediately after the a year ago, and so I made out with him. sex (a sign you may have been inconsiderate I got hard, and my girlfriend made a or creepy), your third helped get you to that huge scene. She says it was supposed to blissed-out state and deserves to bask a bit be for her pleasure, not for mine, and in the afterglow too. she’s still angry six months later and constantly questions whether I’m really Tell my boyfriend to go down on me! straight. (I am!) What do I tell her? Good-bye. When do you know if it’s okay to insert your finger in your boyfriend’s butthole? Without fear of freaking him

If your boyfriend won’t go down on you unless some fag advice columnist tells him to — if his girlfriend asking isn’t good enough — then it’s you I want to order around (break up with him!), not your boyfriend.

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FOR ALL SIGNS This week the cosmic agenda has calmed, so I have decided to write about the significant activity in this overall month. It will help you plan better than the shorter range week-to-week forecasts. In the next column I will return to the usual format for each sign. A big piece of cosmic news is that Mercury is stationary direct on May 3, 2017. The truth of the matter is that the period lasts an additional two and a half weeks after the stationary date because the process of returning to normal speed requires additional time. Mercury’s retrograde purpose symbolizes the need to slow down, think and rethink everything, before proceeding with plans. It is ideal for those who meditate and who are working on self-study. It is not favorable for moving forward with new plans because we will inevitably find something in error as we proceed. The next two and a half of weeks of acceleration offer us the opportunity to regroup and make needed adjustments. The real finale of this Mercury retrograde occurs on May 20, 2017. It will become increasingly easy to arrive at conclusions and make decisions once the initial retrograding point has been crossed. If it were graphed, it would resemble the breakout point on a given stock at the NYSE. Many planets in the cosmos are conflicting with the others. That is the hallmark of this decade. War in the solar system represents opposition and intransigence on earth. We begin a two week period now that favors moving forward and finding solutions to issues. It isn’t exactly “peace on earth”, but

this period may ease some tensions and open the door to communications among those who are in conflict. This is true in the big picture as well as for individuals. Saturn is moving into a favorable position with Uranus. The exact date is May 19, 2017. The energy began early this year, but with all the noise in the solar system, its meaning has been blurred beyond consciousness. Saturn rules the old, the traditional and the status quo. Uranus points at the new, the updated, the fresh idea or technology. When they meet in a favorable aspect, it is a good time to integrate the new and the old into an improved system. The aspect favors ordered, disciplined and gradual change rather than overthrow or rebellion. This is the month the two systems may find a workable blend. I frequently need to choose a date for personal clients that favors whatever they are wanting to do. It just makes things work more smoothly. This has been nearly impossible to find since winter. However, I’ve recognized four specific dates in May that would be good for almost anything buying and selling, medical treatments, putting a house or car on the market, to name only a few. The dates are May 9 and 10 and again on May 17 and 18, 2017. Mark them on your calendar for the month! Are you interested in a personal horoscope? Vivian Carol may be reached at 704-3663777 for private psychotherapy or astrology appointments. You may also visit her at www. horoscopesbyvivian.com.

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